REPORT ON MOSQUITOES. 405 



C. TWO-MILE AND FIVK-MILE BEACH. 



Two-Mile Beach is uninhabited except for the crew of the 

 life-saving station and it has no direct connection with the main- 

 land. Access to it is by boat from Sewell's Point or Holly Beach, 

 and it is a mere ridge of sand, with more or less of the usual 

 shore shrubber}^ Mr. Viereck covered this territory for the first 

 time June loth, "by boat from Schellinger's Landing, through 

 lower Cape Island Creek, Cedar Island Creek, Cape Island 

 Sound, through a thoroughfare, Jarvis Sound, another thorough- 

 fare and Swans Channel; walked from the upper end [north] 

 of the island to the lower end. The mosquito area is a zone of 

 salt hay, which extends from about one-fourth mile above [north 

 of] the life-saving station to near the end of the beach or island. 

 It is a strip about one hundred- to two hundred yards wide, with 

 pools and holes and areas of sedge under water ; no fiddler crabs 

 and no fish. The worst part is above and opposite the life- 

 saving station and all lies between the highland and the sedge 

 marsh. Below [southwest of] the life-saving station the salt 

 hay meadow is more entire, but there are some puddles with 

 larvae in them. The adults were rapidly emerging and were 

 present in great numbers in the grass at the edges of the pools. 

 The largest mosquito pond is opposite the life-saving station." 



July 7th, the same ground was again covered, and it was found 

 that the largest breeders had been neutralized by the high tide 

 which covered them and left fishes behind. All the specimens 

 found Avere sollicitans. 



Two-Mile Beach in itself is of little importance, the only per- 

 sons directly affected being the life-saving crew, which is about 

 as nearly mosquito proof as any individuals may hope to be. But 

 in a direct line the breeding places are only a mile or two east 

 northeast from New Cape May, and while this is not a prevailing 

 wind in summer nor one on which mosquitoes usually fly, yet a 

 quiet warm night with a gentle southwest wind may tempt the 

 insects to flv against it. From Wildwood and Holly Beach they 

 are further removed, but a southwest wind which is quite a com- 

 mon one, will readily carry tlie swarms over the four or five in- 

 tervening miles. For their own protection these communities 

 must see to the clearing of Two-Mile Beach and fortunately this 

 is an easy task because the island is narrow, there are plenty of 

 little inlets to receive ditches and there is sand enough readily 

 available to do what little filling is needed. It is a matter of a 

 few hundred dollars onl>- and a few weeks' work for a small 

 gang. 



